Ranma: The Spirit
by nightcrawler89
Summary: Basically, its "The Spirit" with the cast of Ranma 1/2. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Prolog I'm On My Way

"I am death Ranma Saotome. You are the only man who has ever escaped my cold embrace. But I am never far away. I am always with you"

He heard the phone ring and went to answer it. The man on the other line told him that something was happing down by the mudflats. However, all he cared about was the name that came with the information.

"Something tells me that the Octopus might be in on it".

As soon as he heard that name, he grabbed his suit and his mask and answered, "I'm on my way".

As he leaped over the rooftops and ran down back alleys, he thought to himself. _My city. She's always there for me. Every night, she's there for me. She's an old and proud city. She's my sweetheart, my plaything. She doesn't hide what she is. She is my love, she is my life, and I am her Spirit._

He then heard a woman screaming.

_Damn, I've got no time for this._

* * *

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm doing the chapters based on the chapters from the dvd so, some of them may be short while others will be long. I know this chapter is very short and I apologize. I'll have another one up asap.

Here is the complete cast list for for the fic and my reasons for picking them. Oh and other Ranma characters may make small cameo's during the fic.

Ranma Saotome-The Spirit----Ranma tends to atract crazy people and has 3 fiances and 1 stalker. The spirit atracts all women and many crazy people live around him. This was an obvious choice.

Akane Tendo-Ellen Dolan-----Ellen is the spirits main girlfriend and we all know that Ranma truly loves Akane.

Soun Tendo-Commissioner Dolan-----Ellens dad, Akane's Dad.

Tatewaki Kuno-The Octopus-----The Octopus has a god complex and what other nerima resident thinks higher of himself.

Kasumi Tendo-Lorelei Rox-----This one was more random than anything else

Nabiki Tendo-Silken Floss-----They both seem to talk with a very bored manner of speech. Nabiki love money and what better way to get money than team up with the Octopus

Ukyo Kuonji-Sand Seraf----Sand knew the spirit when they were kids and Ukyo knew Ranma when they were kids.

Shampoo-Morgenstern-----Mostly because Shampoo was one of the only ranma girls left. And I don't think Ranma would find Shampoo's voice as comforting as Kasumi's in the face of death AKA lorlei.

Kodachi Kuno-Plaster of Paris-----Both of them are the strangest women Ranma/the Spirit will ever meet.

Sasuke-The henchmen-----Origanily it was going be Genma but I changed it to the kuno family "ninja" because he seemed to fit the roll more.


	2. What Are You

Two men, one large and one small, had their victim at their mercy. She was a blond with a small side ponytail and a very scared expression on her face. Both of them had a large knife in their hands. However, a split second before they attacked her, they heard a fluttering noise.

They looked up to see a man with a pigtail, black trench coat, domino mask, and a fedora hat descend upon them. He landed in-between them, quickly landed two punches on the small one while kicking the other away.

The men came at him again. He uppercutted the large one in the face and knocked him unconscious. Then he broke the small ones arm. He proceeded to dump them into some trashcans.

He looked over at the girl, "Don't worry, your safe now. Try to catch your breath".

He helped the girl up as the police arrived.

He called out, "Over hear Hibiki".

Then he looked back over the girl who was still shaking, "You can trust him. Tell him everything."

"I will. Oh and my name is Sayuri", said the girl.

"Call your shrink if you got one", he replied with a grunt.

At that point, He and Sayuri noticed a knife that was protruding from his side. He smiled at her and pulled the knife out, causing her to gasp, as he appeared to be fine.

"What are you," she asked.

He looked away as he did not know how to answer. Then he threw the knife away causing her head to turn. When she turned her head back, He was gone and officer Hibiki was at her side.

Having heard the conversation, he said, "That's the spirit".

"God bless him"

He continued running along the rooftops until he spotted a police car.

_She provides for me, my city does. She gives me everything I need._

Then he jumped off the roof he was on and landed directly on the hood of the car. The car stopped and he pushed the driver over and took the wheel.

* * *

Since all the significant male rolls were taken, I decided to make Ryoga one of the generic cops. He'll probobly show up from time to time. Oh and trust me, as the story goes on, more of the Ranma 1/2 charictaristics will show up. BTW could anyone help me figure out if Ranma/The Spirit should be afraid cats or not.

Just to let everyone know, there will be about 28 chapters for this story.


	3. Octopus Big

Meanwhile at the mudflats, the night guard Hiroshi continued his patrol of the area. As the night went on, he grew more paranoid. He shined his flashlight at a pool of water. Slowly, the most beautiful girl emerged from the water, and pointed a gun at him.

She looked at him and shook her head, and then a shot was fired.

The cop Daisuke looked over at the dark figure as they exited the car.

"Sussman called," stated the figure, "Something's going down here. Could be big".

"How big?" asked Daisuke

"Octopus big"

"We better call for backup"

"Not just yet. Sussman wants this one kept under the radar for now"

_Yes. Come closer. Come home to me._

"You hear that," asked Daisuke?

"Kasumi. The angel of death. She's never far away. Not from me" He said with the picture her warm calming smile in his mind. He quickly noticed a set of footprints in the ground.

"They say only sailors and cops can hear her," continued Daisuke.

"Well, I'm not a sailor. And I'm not a cop" replied the figure.

They soon found Hiroshi's body. He was covered with mud and had several bullet holes in his body. Daisuke quickly called it in.

"Officer down. We need an ambulance. Call Dr. Akane Dolan.

Hiroshi looked up at the masked man. "It hurts," he said. The masked man just reassured him that it would all be ok.

Hiroshi closed his eyes for a moment and reported, "That girl. You should have seen her."

"Girl, "the masked man repeated.

"A beautiful girl. She was beautiful. And she wasn't looking for a fight either."

"Keep him talking. Keep him awake," Said Daisuke to the masked man.

(Approximately 30 minutes ago)

The girl lowered her gun for a second and Hiroshi was shot from behind. He was able to grab the girls' necklace before she dove back into the water. The gunshots continued as she swam towards her partner who held two boxes that were tied together. A bullet eventually managed to hit him in the shoulder causing him to drop the boxes. She quickly grabbed them and started swimming toward their boat.

Then another bullet hit the rope that connected the boxes, causing her to drop one. She couldn't risk going after it with all the shots being fired.

The one who shot at them soon dove into the water.

She paid him no mind and kept swimming towards the boat.

"If this is the wrong box, I'll kill you myself," she yelled at her partner who had surfaced soon after her.

"Just get us out of here. It's the Octopus. You know what he can do," he said while clutching his wounded shoulder.

She glared at him and said, "Shut up and bleed, jackass".

Meanwhile, the Octopus grabbed the box that was left behind and surfaced. As soon as his eyes breached the surface, he noticed the pigtail of his favorite person.


	4. All Night Party

The Octopus quietly rose from the water, and knocked out officer Daisuke. He put down his box and grabbed a discarded cinderblock.

He tossed the cinderblock yelling, "Heads up" as it hit the masked man in the head.

While his enemy was stunned, he handed his box to his diminutive henchmen.

"Take it home. When the Spirit and I get together, we like to party night."

Then his henchmen hauled the box off as he walked back over to his enemy. When his enemy woke up, the Octopus smashed him in the face with his wooden sword.

"There's nothing I love more than thrashing you all night long", he said. Then he proceeded to kick his enemy into the muddy water.

Meanwhile, the Octopus' henchmen were busy arguing amongst themselves.

"Where's the truck?" said One.

"Silken Nabiki is the most beautiful woman ever," said Two.

"How are we supposed to find our way home without Silken Nabiki?" said Three.

"Silken Nabiki is the most beautiful woman ever," said One.

"She was supposed to be here," said Two.

"How are we supposed to find our way home without Silken Nabiki?" said One.

"Where's the truck," said Three.

Just then, a moving truck backed over Two.

"I found the truck" said Two who looked up at Silken Nabiki. She was dressed in very expensive shoes, a knee length leather skirt, black jacket, fingerless gloves, and a beret that complimented her Louise Brooks haircut.

"Load up the box and get in, laborers," she said with her usual bored expression.

She continued, "No need to wait for the boss if that's the Spirit back there. He always finds his nemesis so distracting."

"It is the Spirit. We were watching," said Three.

"Well then, he'll be at it all night."

"Yeah, Master said so. We were watching," said One.

"Yeah, I heard," sighed Nabiki.

* * *

A/N, I decided that the henchmen would get numbers instead of names. It's less confusing for me that way. Oh and for the record, some of the characters will get Ranma names (various background characters, Shampoo, Kasumi) , some will keep their Spirit (The Octopus) names and others "hybrid names" (Akane/ Nabiki)

The only character I haven't decided on yet is Ukyo/Sand Seraf. She might stay Sand Saref or Ukyo Kuonji. I can't think of a good way to combine the names for a hybrid.

Oh and I didn't say this before but, I'm gunna try not to refer to him as the Spirit unless someone is talking to or about him. That's why he's being referred to a, "The masked man" or "The figure".


	5. Just Like Me

As Silken Nabiki left, the Octopus stood and waited for his enemy to surface. The moment he saw the mask and pigtail, he started smashing him in the head with his wooden sword.

"You're giving me a headache," he said.

"It will get worse before it gets better," replied the Octopus.

"You got that right" he said. Then he pulled a lead pipe out of the water and started smashing the Octopus in the head with it. He watched the Octopus sink into the muddy water and he felt a sharp pain in his side. The Octopus had surfaced behind him and had hit him with his sword. He dodged to the side as the Octopus slashed downwards and got his sword stuck in the muck. He used the distraction to attack.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken" he yelled while striking the Octopus with lighting quick punches.

He kept up his attack until he had the Octopus on his back. Then he continued to pound him into the muddy water until he suddenly felt his fist strike nothing but mud. The Octopus had somehow gotten away from him.

He heard something coming from behind him. He reacted just a little too late as a discarded toilet came crashing down on his head. He recovered from the attack to find out that he was stuck inside the rim of the toilet while the Octopus pointed and laughed.

Suddenly, the Octopus got right in his face and laughed, "Why are you not laughing? Toilets are always funny".

He then shook his body around and was able to wriggle free from the toilet. Then he used his Amaguriken technique to beat down the Octopus once more.

Before he could get the final blow, he was shot three times. Two came running up with a large tire track on him.

"I was watching," said Two.

The Octopus rose from the ground grunting, "That is enough. Let us depart from here".

Then he looked over at the masked man who was writhing from the gunshots and shouted, "I shall be seeing you soon."

"I'm gunna be the death of you Octopus," grunted the masked man.

"Death he says. Not for me."

"I'm gunna kill you all kinds of dead."

"I believe I had you defeated".

"Like hell you did. I had you right where I wanted you".

"In your dreams. You're an accident. You should never have happened."

"You're talking crazy".

"We are the only two like us."

"I'm nothing like you"

"Nothing like me. Well you sure can tolerate punishment. Just like me. Ever curious why?"

"Never even crossed my mind."

"Well, I'll be learning you real soon".

He then tried to land a punch on the Octopus. However, the gunshots and head injuries left him so weak and dizzy that he missed completely and fell over. Then the Octopus and Two fled before the rest of the police could get there.

* * *


	6. An Obsession

He saw Kasumis' face. That warm smiling face.

_Such pain. Such Suffering. Sleep._

Then, he heard a woman leaning over him whispering, "Come on, come on, come on. Wake up."

He opened his eyes and gazed upon the smiling face of Akane Dolan. She wore a light blue plastic hazmat suit. He smileld. She always looked cute in blue.

"Hey baby," she whispered.

"Akane"

"You're a mess. Three bullets across the deltoid and chest."

She started to wipe his face with a damp cloth.

"They went straight through me. Hardly took any meat."

"Major contusions on any visible skin".

"Come on Akane, they never last long."

"Evidence of a profusely bleeding cranial wound."

"It's nothing. Just a bump. Really, I'm okay."

"No this is serious. You can't keep taking these chances."

He stood up, brushing some of the mud off himself.

"I'll be fine" he said.

She gave him a concerned look, "Your bleeding out of your head".

He felt around on his head and squished some of the already drying blood in his fingers.

"It's gone all sticky. It'll stop any minute," He said

"You need to be admitted," she pleaded.

"No. It takes forever."

"Please don't fight me this time."

"I'll be fine. I'm just missing something really important."

"Do you even know where you are?"

"Yeah. Nerima, Tokyo"

"What year is it?"

"This year"

"Do you know who you are?"

"The Spirit. I beat up bad guys. You know, you're being really un-cute right now."

"And sometimes they beat you up. And who cares if I'm not cute, dummy".

"And it really hurts when that happens, but I always get better. I don't know why and neither do you. But the Octopus does."

"You're crazy. Come on lets go."

"Wait a minute".

He looked around and found what was missing. His hat that had been knocked off during the fight.

He put it on, "That's better".

She shook her head, "That tears it. You're delirious."

Before he could respond, Akane was called over to check on Hiroshi. He followed her a second later.

Hiroshi looked up at him. Then Hiroshi held out his hand and handed him a shiny gold object.

He quickly pocketed the object before anyone could notice. Then Akane's dad, Commissioner Dolan came up behind him.

"You find anything," asked Dolan.

"No sir. I'm just feeling dizzy from all the action," he said.

"Were all impressed"

"Thanks".

"You're doing this town no good with you hot-dogging".

"What"

"We're flat on our asses happy to clean up after your dog and pony show."

"Not this again. You know the score."

"I thought I did. Enlighten me. Bring me up to speed."

"Sussman wanted things to be kept quiet. Leave it at that".

"Why would he want that?"

"He suspected a leak in your department and didn't want the Octopus getting away."

It was at this point that the two of them started to yell at each other.

"So you're internal affairs now."

"It was a judgment call. I gave it my best shot."

"And now I have one man dying and one of my officers, knocked unconscious. All because you had to go after the Octopus without a plan."

"And I'm going to keep going after him every chance I get".

"And you're going through my men like toilet paper. It's an obsession."

"Have you seen some of the people affected by the Octopus? Maybe you and your force could use a little obsession Dolan. You know, work a little harder."

"Akane's right. You're crazy, talking about cops like that."

"Maybe if you could find the Octopus, I wouldn't have to play it solo"

"Solo. That wasn't our deal."

"Well than maybe we don't have a deal anymore".

He started to storm off until Dolan grabbed his arm.

Dolan tried to be calm, "Your living at the edge of a cliff. All you've got is a tired old man trying to hold you back."

"Look, were both tired," he said.

"Yeah"

"Just give me ten minutes to clear my head."

He walked off.

Commissioner Dolan said to himself, "I don't even know why I bother to try and talk to you anymore. What's ten minutes in a man's life anyway?"

Dolan called out, "Spirit!"

"Yes sir" he called back.

"That cliff I was talking about? There's no bottom. Don't jump."


	7. I Wonder

He continued to walk off when he had a curious and slightly disturbing thought come to mind.

_What are you? That's what Sayuri asked me. It's a good question. I wish I had an answer for her. Am I a crazy man? Or am a man at at all? Some nights like this one, when the wind bites deep, bone deep and even my city seems to leave me behind, I wonder: Am I some sort of ghost? Some sort of Flying Dutchman? If the wind picked up hard enough, would I just blow away?_

_I'm not a cop, not anymore. Not even a dead man. Not even a spirit._

He then decided to put his thoughts aside for the moment, and kept on walking.

Meanwhile,

"We made it boss, just like you said we would" said Two

"Oh, you're still here," replied the Octopus. He was truly surprised that Two was still walking around. He had to have at least several broken bones judging by the size of the tire tread going down his body.

"Of course I'm still here. I'm your trigger. I blew holes right through the Spirit."

"You're a trigger Two. Just look at you. Quick Draw McGraw himself."

"I'm great. I don't even have any bones sticking out. A couple of splints and I'll be fine."

"Of course. Just go over to the hospital a get your wounds healed. Then I'll have to explain why a criminal genius like myself doesn't provide his servants with better medical care."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"No. You weren't made for that."

"Could you at least tell me where the hospital is? I'll tell them I'm homeless. They don't have to pay. That's why the homeless always get hurt. Because it's free. That'll work."

"So will this".

Then the Octopus unsheathed his wooden sword and with a very powerful strike, sliced Two in half.


	8. Something Shiny

As he walked, a small furry companion joined him. He could never figure it out. As much as he loved cats, he could never stop his hands from shaking every time he tried to touch one. It was almost as though he should be afraid of them. Oh well, just one of life's mysteries.

He felt around his pocket until he found the item given to him by Hiroshi.

As he held it up so his companion could see it, he said, "Any other case, little buddy. If it were anyone but her."

He opened the locket and stared at the two pictures in side. One was a scruffy guy who at one time was known as Ranma Saotome and the other was a tomboyish girl called…

"Ukyo Saref"

He closed the locket, suddenly feeling nostalgic.

Approximately 16 years ago,

Ranma had been waiting on the steps in front of his house for 20 minutes with the locket before Ukyo showed up. She was riding her skateboard and holding her trademark oversized spatula.

"Where's your bike" she asked.

"I got sick of that bike. Besides, I can easily jump onto and over rooftops so I don't really need it," replied Ranma.

"Or, you just got sick of losing races to me. So where is it?"

"I pawned it. I was able to get a little money for it."

Ukyo was suddenly distracted by a woman driving by. However, the woman isn't what drew her attention. It was the shiny bracelet she wore.

Ranma noticed Ukyo muttering, "I bet those are real diamonds. You see how the catch the light Ranma? Only real ones do that."

Ranma disregarded her comment and sat down. She joined him a second later.

"What's with you," asked Ukyo.

"Nothing much," he replied.

"Your dads not drinking again is he?"

"No, he's not drinking."

"So then why do you need money?"

"Just something I saw in a pawn shop."

"Is it a badge like my dad's?"

"No it wasn't a badge"

"So what was it?"

"It was something that I thought, you know you might like. Seeing as how you like shinny things and all."

He grabbed the locket out of his pocket and handed it to her. Ukyo opened the locket and stared at the pictures inside.

She didn't say anything which made Ranma nervous.

"If you don't like it, they said they'll take it back. So….do you like it?"

Ukyo closed the locket and smiled at him saying, "So do you want me to be your girl?"

Ranma blushed, "Yeah sure. I mean if…You know if it's all the same to you".

Ranma took the locket and helped Ukyo put it on.

She blushed, "Well, I suppose I can where it every now and then. But that doesn't make me your girl."

Then Ukyo kissed Ranma's cheek.

* * *

Hope everyone was satisfied with how I resolved the cat issue. On another note, I could use a few ideas on how to give the story a little more Ranma-ness.


	9. City Kids

The wind blew, almost knocking off his hat. He laughed, "Yeah we had us a time alright. The way only city kids could."

He remembered how he and Ukyo used to leap across the rooftops together, enjoying the freedom that I granted. The only time they ever stopped was so Ukyo could stare through the window of a jewelry store. She'd probably stay there all day unless Ranma pulled her away.

Then they'd sit around and read. While Ranma mostly stuck to comic books, Ukyo would read books about the various mythologies. She enjoyed the stories about the gods and heroes.

"It says here Heracles himself fought with the Argonauts. Imagine Jason and Heracles fighting back to back. Jason gleaming in his golden fleece."

Ranma noticed the shine in her eye when it came to talking about the fleece but chose to ignore it. And that night after he walked her home, he took Ukyo into his arms and kissed her.

She kissed back a second later. As soon as it was over however, Ukyo wacked him playfully with her spatula out of sheer embarrassment.

Then everything went straight to hell.

His dad was a has-been fighter. Ukyo's dad, a beat cop who was always looking out for his idiot dad.

One night, his dad got into fight with a mugger who held a gun to him. Ukyo's dad came to intervene and then the gun went off. The next thing his dad knew, he was holding the gun and the mugger had run off. His dad did the only thing his punch-battered brain could tell him to do.

Upon seeing his dead friend, and he himself standing over him with a gun in his hand, Ranma's dad took the gun and pointed it at himself.

Sand got there a few minutes before me. I tried to be strong for both of us. I said some stuff. I can't remember what. Then that jerk reporter latched onto us.

The reporter got right up in their faces, "So kids, how does this make you feel".

"We ain't talking so just leave us alone," said Ranma.

"You gotta give me something," pleaded the reporter.

The Ukyo turned around with tears in her eyes, "I'll give you something. I'll give you three words. I hate cops."

Ranma grabbed Ukyo and pushed the reporter away, "Just leave us alone," he yelled.

They found a disserted alley for them to talk in.

"I know your hurting right now Ukyo. So am I, but you don't mean what you said."

"Leave me alone. Stay away".

"Give it awhile. What, us."

"Well, yeah, that's what I mean."

"So, we grow up and have kids in the hole. And you become a cop just like you always wanted to."

"Yeah, maybe I do."

"Then some old drunk fighter shoots you dead. Do you think I want that?"

"It wasn't the old man."

"Who cares? You know what? I don't want your world. I wan't diamonds, I want sports cars, and I want' long dresses, and I want money, and I want lots of it."

"And where are you going to find that Ukyo?

"Not here."

Ranma's heart broke right there and at this point, he knew things would never be the same.

"So you're too good for me. Is that it?" he said.

"I'm too good for you, and I'm too good for this hole," she yelled. "I'm going away. I'm gonna go all over the world, and become rich and no one is ever going to know I came from this hole! And I'm never coming back!"

"Well than do whatever you wan't Ukyo," he yelled back. "I don't care about you either. I never want to see you again! I hate you, Ukyo."

Ukyo then grabbed her spatula and hit him over the head with it. Then she walked off into the cold cold night.

He never wanted to remember that night. But the locket in his hand brought everything back.

I never saw her again. Word is she took off for Europe. I never knew if she was alive or dead. Until now.

He looked over at the cat that had sat there patiently while he reminisced, shivered, and spoke,

"There's only one way this locket ended up in Hiroshi's hand. She was there. She was wearing it. She is implicated. If she's doing business with the Octopus then my feelings don't mean a damn. I have to find Ukyo Saref and bring her in."

The cat meowed and sent another shiver down his spine.

* * *

Atention to any and all readers. I'll be going on vacation soon, so I probobly won't be able to update for at least two weeks. However, when I get back, I'll try to add at least two new chapters to make up for lost time.


	10. The Second Box

She felt around her neck, it was gone. The locket Ranma gave her was gone.

"My beautiful Ukyo Saref, are you missing something," asked her fiancé Tsubasa.

Ukyo sighed. Ranma could make her smile all the time. The only time Tsubasa ever made her smile was when she caught him cross-dressing while he thought she was out of the house.

"Nothing important. Just something I lost a long time ago," she replied as they drove off.

An Hour later, They sat in the office of Mr. Donenfeld. He was an old balding man who instantly started to sweat as soon as Ukyo and her fiancé came in.

"I am a man of my word miss Saref" yelled Donenfeld.

"Are you now" She calmly replied. "Take promesis you made to your lovely new wife. 'Forsaking all others' and such.

"Let's not get personal shall we"

"Oh we shall," she said as she placed a set of pictures in front of Donenfeld. They contained evidence of him "consorting" with a teenage girl.

Ukyo continued, "I commissioned you to find a certain treasure for me Mr. Donenfeld. The lost treasure of the Argonauts. It was worth me coming back to this horrid town. Just to touch it, to hold it, to have it be mine. The shiny thing to end all shiny things. And I paid you a fortune for it. And it would have been worth every nickel, but you screwed me. So now, were going to take every last one of those nickels and transfer them into another bunch of accounts."

"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Donenfeld.

"You're going to be quite the philanthropist."

Her fiancé started to type in numbers on Donenfelds' computer. "Transfer complete," he said.

Ukyo made her way over to a scanner and sat down on it.

"Why are you doing this to me?" asked Donenfeld.

"You sold me out," yelled Ukyo.

"I didn't have any choice"

"Imagine my surprise when I show up at the drop point and run smack into the Octopus. I mean what are the odds of that. Unless you sold the Argo's treasure twice making a perfect ass of yourself."

Then Ukyo turned the scanner on and out came a picture of her butt that she soon discarded.

"He didn't give me any choice. He's the Octopus, he threatened my family," pleaded Donenfeld.

"Take a good look at those pictures. They'll reach your family and every news service on the planet unless you render them irrelevant. At least die bravely, jackass" she said as she handed him a gun.

Tsubasa then grabbed the pictures and they left.

A minute later, a gunshot was heard coming from Donenfeld's office.

Meanwhile,

The Octopus sat in the middle of the room with Silken Nabiki behind him, One, and numbers Three through Eight surrounding him, and a large box in front of him.

"Mark this moment, all of you. A new age begins. An age of great power. The blood of Heracles is finally mine."

He opened the lid on the box and a bright golden light shined upon him. He closed the box and took out his wooden sword. Then in a fit of rage, he killed Four and Five.

Silken Nabiki just stood there, nonchalantly taking a bite of an apple.

"I am sorely disappointed," said the Octopus. He looked over at his henchmen, "Which one of you ingrates brought me this?"

"I guess that would be me boss," said One.

"On your knees then," said Nabiki.

One cheerfully got on his knees.

"What went wrong?" asked Nabiki.

"Nothing went wrong," said One.

"Then where is my vase. I should have a vas full of blood. It's supposed to be in that box," asked the Octopus.

"Must have been in the other box," said One.

"What other box" yelled Nabiki and the Octopus simultaneously.

"Must have been in the other box"

"What other box you fart," yelled Nabiki.

"The one the pretty lady ran off with. We was watching"

The Octopus remembered Ukyo Saref. He thought he scared her off with time to spare. What was she doing in Nerima anyway?

"It didn't occur to you morons to mention that there was a second box," asked Nabiki.

"No. But it looked just like this one," said One.

Silken Nabiki had had enough of this, "Seppuku across the stomach. Left to right and give me 5000 yen."

The Octopus handed One a small sword that was hanging on the wall. He took it and happily obliged with Silken Nabiki's request.

Nabiki looked over at the Octopus. "So Ukyo Saref has the blood. You know, you could have killed her and brought back both boxes," she said.

"Am I supposed to do everything around here" said the Octopus.

"You have to do something about her"

"Don't worry about her. She's after the other box and whatever's inside of it. I'll admit that the glow it emits is creepy."

"So the situation is hardly a disaster. Ukyo Saref has the blood. However, we have what she wants."

The Octupus called the remaining henchmen in the room, "Find Ukyo Saref, and tell her I have no problem with her. She can have her creepy item. Get me the blood. Keep it safe. Spill one drop and you will all be severely punished."

"Don't forget about the Spirit" said Nabiki.

"He's like a cockroach that just won't die if you know what I mean. I hate cockroaches. We're going to kill the Spirit, and sometime soon."

"He doesn't exactly publish his address".

"I didn't say we were going to look for him. He'll come to us."

"I assume you have a plan."

"I left him a clue that will lead him right to us."


	11. Just Doing My Job

That morning, he stopped over St. Alice's Hospital before going back to work. He wanted to check on Hiroshi and maybe try to smooth things over with Akane.

So, there he was, sitting on a hospital bed with his shirt off while Akane listened to his heartbeat. The bruises were gone and his head no longer showed any visible signs of injury.

"What can I say? Last night, you were 20 minutes from the morgue, and now look at you. I'd recommend three days' bead rest, but why waist my breath on a pervert like you," said Akane.

He laughed, "Looks who's talking. You should take the night off tomboy."

"Yeah, I'm sure my other patients in critical condition can wait."

He hopped from the table and put his arms around her, "You need to have some fun. You know, relax. Go see a movie."

She smiled and put her arms around his neck, "And what about you. What's on your agenda tonight?"

"Oh I don't know. If things stay quiet, I'd be up for anything."

"Anything?"

"Sure, anything. Dinner, movie, anything."

"So long as things stay quiet?"

"Yeah"

"Like every criminal in Nerima goes on vacation."

"Or maybe if I break the rules."

Then, he pushed her up against the wall and closed the blinds.

She gave him a short and sweet kiss then whispered, "I feel like breaking all kinds of rules."

He smiled and kissed her tenderly, his fast hands already at work.

"Leave the mask on. Something tells me it might be better that way," she said.

The continued making out until he paused briefly to say, "Akane, I love you."

Akane looked away, "You're in love with every woman you meet, Mr. Spirit. You say lovely things to all of us and you mean every word you say. Every time."

"Akane, It's only you."

"But we don't even know your real name."

"I'll tell you my name."

He gave her another loving kiss. Then she pushed him back, laughing as she said, "Someday I'd love to do your autopsy."

"Thanks for the thought."

Suddenly,

Commissioner Dolan AKA Akane's Dad burst in the room. Akane and her lover quickly turned away, each of them, buttoning up their shirts. Akane couldn't help but wonder when the pervert unbuttoned hers to begin with.

"He's all yours," said Akane to her dad.

"You should get some sleep," said Commissioner Dolan.

"Love you too daddy"

He had just finished putting his tie and hat back on when a girl, a little younger than Akane, with long purple hair, in a cop uniform suddenly popped up behind him.

"Is honor to meet you Mr. Spirit. I'm Shampoo. Rookie from China." she said.

She held her hand out for him to shake. Then as if he couldn't help himself, he took her hand and kissed it. "Good to have you aboard Shampoo," he said with that cocky grin of his.

Both Akane and her dad could see Shampoo instantly melt.

"Let's go, we haven't got all day," said the Commissioner.

The commissioner and Shampoo left the room leaving him and Akane alone. He casually walked up to her, "Dr. Dolan, I can't thank you enough."

"Just doing my job sir," she said.

Then, she hit him over the head with a giant mallet, screaming "SPIRIT NO BAKA".

* * *

Well, I'm back from vacation. I had alot of time to relax and ended up getting 5 chapters done. For right now though, here are the two chapters i promised


	12. Pearl Of Wisdom

As soon as he stepped out of Akane's hospital, he punched a thief to get back some guys wallet.

"Thank you" said the man.

"Just doing my job sir," he replied.

"And what a fine job it is" interrupted a reporter.

He remembered this one. Her name was Yuka.

"Nerima's own masked man hunter. You know you're worshiped by the kids. Anything you'd care to share with them," she asked.

He then started to list off the stuff he knew Yuka and any parents at home wanted to hear. Things like, Stay in school, don't to drugs, and brush your teeth. Then he gave the camera a cocky grin that seemed to shine.

"Every word a pearl of wisdom. Don't forget to tell them to take their vitamins," muttered Commissioner Dolan.

Yuka continued, "And for the ladies? You know, we hang on your every word."

"Well, I don't think I can say anything more than thanks for being such amazing and lovely creatures. No two alike" He replied.

As his statement ended, Yuka slipped him a card with her phone number written on it. Upon seeing this, Dolan grabbed him by the pigtail and started dragging him off with Shampoo right behind him.

"Ever meet a skirt you didn't chase," Dolan asked.

"I was just being nice," he replied.

"Yeah, I've seen how nice you've been to my daughter. When will you break her heart, you lounge lizard?"

"Lounge lizard? Where do you get off?"

"I'll call you anything I want. I don't even know why I bother talking to you."

"Because we fight crime together and right now we have our hands full."

"So you noticed. I thought with all the girls you chase, you'd forgotten."

"It's the Octopus!"

"Again with the Octopus."

"He's up to something big and it's got something to do with me. He said some weird stuff about him and me. I gotta find out what he's talking about."

"Can we forget about the Octopus for one minute. Now, we have a hot case and a murder suspect who's probably running to the airport as we speak."

"Who?"

"Her name is Ukyo Saref."

"Ukyo Saref," he repeated.

"Ukyo Saref," confirmed Shampoo as she shoved a picture in his face.

"Local girl. We got the call from a clerk this morning," said Dolan.

"This only know picture of her. Over 16 years old" said Shampoo.

"Her father was a cop that was gunned down"

"She disappear after her father die."

"She told some reporter that she hated cops."

"She move to Europe."

"Eight marriages later, runs every jewelry heist this side of Bulgari."

"Accept in Nerima."

"She never came back," he muttered loud enough for Dolan to hear it.

"That's why you've never heard of her. You've never heard of her, right," asked Dolan.

"She never came home."

"Are you on drugs or something?"


	13. Ukyo Saref

They soon arrived at Mr. Donenfelds' office complex. As they walked in, Dolan kept listing the information regarding Ukyo.

"Ukyo Saref has overseen hundreds of robberies and in not one case was a police officer so much as wounded. What are the odds of that," said Dolan.

"Sound like Electra complex," said Shampoo.

"A what?"

"Electra complex. Plain as your face.

"Look, I'm just an old man. Give me something to work with."

They entered the elevator with Shampoo reciting information as thought she were reading straight from a textbook.

"Electra complex. It like Oedipal complex except it for girls. She no hate cops. She just angry she lose father."

"Damn. Hey Spirit, this girls gonna make detective in no time".

He looked over Shampoo, then at Dolan, and he smiled.

"You like the new jacket," Dolan asked.

"Excuse me," he replied.

"You can't take your eyes of the ladies. You couldn't have missed Shampoo's new flak jacket. Even if you are on drugs."

"I'm not on drugs."

They stepped out and into a small room just outside of Donenfelds' office.

"State of the art these jackets. We got a large shipment of them but we couldn't pay for them until today when we got a private donation to the force. We received over nine billion yen," stated Dolan.

"That's a lot of money," he said.

"Yeah it is. And it came to us out of nowhere."

"It was anonymous online donation," said Shampoo.

"It took our men about thirty minutes to track it back here. To the offices of an expert in ancient artifacts, who turned said artifacts into a fortune. You could say that he was a purveyor of stolen property or in simple terms, a fence. His name was Donenfeld," continued Dolan.

They entered Donenfelds' office shortly after. Shampoo took the time to look over the artifacts, mentally cataloging them. He watched her for a second then turned his attention to the dead body that was missing the back of its head.

"He doesn't look to good," he said.

The something caught his eye in the trashcan. It was picture of some woman's butt. No. Not murder, not her. It's not possible. He folded the picture and pocketed it.

He didn't realize that he was muttering aloud. Or at least loud enough for Dolan to hear him.

"So, you do know her," Dolan said.

"No" he denied.

"If you're holding back on me…."

"I'm not. It's just your whole theory, it doesn't make any sense."

"It fits together perfectly once you factor in her...What did you say it was Shampoo"

"Electra complex" she replied.

"Its psychobabble. Trying to hang a murder rap on that woman over some piece of psychobabble," he scoffed.

"Her name is Ukyo Saref and you know her and your covering for her," yelled Dolan.

"I've never even heard of Ukyo Saref!"

"You're lying!"

He started to leave but Dolan grabbed his arm.

"Get your hand off my arm"

"You're lying to me."

"Let go of my arm Dolan before I break yours."

He wrestled his arm away from Dolan and went towards the elevator. He was fully aware that Dolan had ordered Shampoo to follow him.

As he got into the elevator, he took the picture from his pocket and stared at it. You did a neat little job up there, Ukyo. You shouldn't have signed it.

As he left the elevator and headed for the door, he knew Shampoo was only a few yards behind him. Shampoo could see he was on edge and was fully ready to take action if necessary. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a pair of Chui. Suddenly, he turned around and kicked one of them from her hands. Shampoo swung the other one, which missed her target entirely. He was quicker than she expected. He soon maneuvered himself behind her and grabbed her wrist. She dropped her remaining weapon and was forced down to her knees.

He leaned down until his head was right next to hers, "Officer Shampoo, you wanna help, find me a lead to the Octopus." With that, he let her go and she allowed him to leave. She couldn't figure it out, no one had ever beaten her in combat that quickly.

* * *

So, I figure that my updateing schedual will be every monday and friday. Lately, i'm writing a chapter a day. At that rate i should have the story completed in two weeks aproximatly. So after 2 weeks, start expecting double updates. Hope everyone's enjoying the story.


	14. Winning Hand

After leaving Donenfelds's office, Ukyo Saref decided to gather some "friends" for a game of cards. Each of them sat in a circle, each of them betting tons of their money. All of them felt confident until they saw Ukyo's hand. She held a full house.

Ukyo smiled and looked over the pile of chips and various other valuable trinkets. She found what she was looking for, a diamond-studded necklace.

She looked around at her "friends" and said, "I'm keeping the necklace as a souvenir. The rest goes to the one who can get a message to the Octopus.

Just then, a guy with long hair and thick coke bottle glasses leaned forward, smiling.

Meanwhile,

After the short fight with Shampoo, he walked along the dark alleys of the city thinking to himself.

I thought I was closing in, putting it all together. That three years on, here in my second life, I had a pretty good idea of what I had to do. It all got down to me and the Octopus. We were headed for a showdown. I was finally going to scrub the city clean of him once and for all. It wasn't pretty but it was simple enough.

Then she came along like a sack of rocks to my face. What's the story Ukyo? What the hell's going on? All night I've been rolling it around in my skull.

You and the Octopus? You and murder?

Dolon's gotta be wrong. There's gotta be more to this, some explanation. Not murder, not you. I can't believe that about you. You were tough on the outside but inside, you were warm.

And soft.

All woman.

One thing I can bet on: You wouldn't be caught dead hiding in a fleabag like any ordinary criminal. Your taste was always first class. All the way.


	15. Weird

The Octopus sat there, hypnotically staring at his latest creation. It came out wrong. It was just a miniature head on a foot. The thing was hopping around without a care in the world.

"That's just plain damn weird" he said.

Then, Silken Nabiki walked up behind him. Calculator in one hand, clipboard in the other and a face that said, we need to talk business.

"Sir, you promised the new hyper-addictive synapse accelerant would be ready by last week."

The Octopus pointed towards his creation, "Don't you think that's weird?"

Silken Nabiki glared at the creation and it smiled at her, "Yes sir, that's weird".

She looked at her clipboard, "Also, our profits are down twenty percent."

"And I thought it was just me. God, that thing is weird. I was trying to make a smart one and this thing just sort of came out," stated the Octopus.

Nabiki really didn't care, "twenty percent across the board"

The Octopus sighed, "Reduce the price on the old products; we'll make it up in units."

"Word has hit the street about the side effects. No one likes having their teeth dissolve."

"How can I accomplish anything with all this time on my hands? Besides, when my minions here find Ukyo Saref, I will not need profits, I will have the blood. Then if I desire something, I will just take it. That is what gods do."

"They can't find her"

"Yeah, we can't find her" interrupted Seven.

"We looked everywhere," said Three.

"Except where she was," said Six.

The Octopus rubbed his temples muttering, "Kill them all Nabiki. Please, just kill them all."

"We can't spare them right now," said Nabiki.

"I'm depressed. I wish the Spirit was here so I could make him suffer."

"I told you, that's going to be complex."

"The Spirit thinks he can't be harmed. The fluid I put inside him and I is most unstable. It probably won't last. The blood will take care of that problem. Meanwhile I will destroy the Spirit while I still can. I brought us a specialist to make sure of that."

And with that, the Octopus picked up his creation and flung it into a small vat of acid.


	16. Chasing Dreams

It took all day and a little interrogation but he had finally found Ukyo. She was staying at the Hotel Ares, suite 1510.

"Long time no see Ukyo," he muttered during the elevator ride.

When he entered her suite, he took out a pair of handcuffs. Then he heard a voice coming from the bathroom. Ukyo walked out dressed only in a towel.

"You gonna arrest me? Or do you have something else in mind" she said playfully.

"I'm bringing you in. Hands behind your head" he replied in no mood to play around.

"You sure about that"

"Don't make me repeat myself. Hands behind your head."

"As you wish."

The she did as she was asked and her towel fell to the floor. He shuddered knowing that if Akane were here, she'd probably be pounding him into the ground right now.

He turned around blushing,"Ok, put a robe on or something but no tricks."

"Yes sir, Mr. Spirit" she said with a mocking salute.

After she left, He took the opportunity to snoop around the room. Then he tripped over something.

"Watch out for my fiancé" called Ukyo from the bathroom.

He looked down and saw a very effeminate looking dead man with blood dripping from his mouth.

"Why this?" He asked.

Ukyo sauntered out from the bathroom wearing a very thing black robe.

"I didn't kill him. The jackass did it to himself about an hour ago. It was because of this stupid vase. He tasted what was in it and see for yourself" She responded.

"It's stolen"

"Duh"

"You're a common criminal."

"There is nothing common about me."

"You're a criminal and I'm bringing you in for the murder of a fence, Donenfeld."

"If you're gonna lock me up, do it over something I'm actually guilty of, stupid."

He leaned over to her, "You're guilty of a lot."

She reached around and playfully tugged on his pigtail, "I could burn a priest's ears off confessing the half of it. However, this time, my hands are clean, crime fighter. So go home and wait for the forensics report. I haven't shot anybody in days."

"There probably isn't a law on the books you wouldn't break."

"Do I look like a good girl?"

"You don't care who you've hurt"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Ukyo, The Octopus, that fence, and you? Now, after all these…nothing fits together. There's that crazy talk from the Octopus about him and…."

Ukyo was getting sick of his crazy rambling, "Listen mister, I don't care. I even care about people that I like and I don't even know you."

"No, of course you don't. But things, now, those you care about."

"I don't see what use I could possibly be to you. I have nothing to offer this rotten little town of yours. As a matter of fact, I despise it. There's only one thing I came here for."

"What, that stupid vase?"

"It wasn't supposed to be a vase. It was supposed to be worth something more than jewels. Something a little girls dreams are made of."

"I knew a little girl like that once."

The sound in his voice, it couldn't be, "You don't know anything, get out"

She walked toward the window and he was right behind her.

"She was a very sweet girl but the world broke her heart. She wasn't after any vase. She was looking for a hero. Weren't you, little girl. You were looking for a hero and his mythical armor."

No, he couldn't be him. "The only man who knew that is dead," Ukyo yelled.

"The fleece. The Golden Fleece."

Before he could react, Ukyo grabbed a familiar giant spatula screaming, "He's dead. You're dead. You're dead.

Then before she knew it, she had hit him with her spatula, causing him to fall through the window and into the streets below.


	17. Bigger Fish To Fry

He couldn't tell how long he'd been falling. Even he had doubts if he could survive the fall or not. Then suddenly, his coat was snagged on a gargoyle.

The next thing he knew, there was a crowd of people gathering to mock him in the streets. That however wasn't what caught his attention.

He quickly noticed Ukyo walking towards her car without a care in the world.

He coat suddenly started to tear loose from the gargoyle. Then his cell phone rang.

"Not right now, I'm kind of busy," he answered.

The person on the other line said, "It Shampoo. I might have lead for you. Nobody notice all that salt. It right in front of us. "

He was running out of time before his coat would completely tear loose.

"Could you hurry this up?"

"Industrial salt. One of the Octopus' henchmen. We find dead near the flats. Salt was caked all over his shoes."

"Dolan was right, you'll make detective in no time."

"Thank you"

"I gotta go"

As he hung up the phone, he removed his belt. Then he started to swing himself towards another gargoyle. His tore his coat off the gargoyle as he swung himself into the air. He was able wrap his belt around the other gargoyle, and then he used it to swing himself on top of a glass elevator that was making its descent.

Unfortunately, with the removal of his belt, his pants had come down during his acrobatics. This was however not as unfortunate for the two women inside the glass elevator. He recognized them as Sayuri, the girl he saved, and Yuka the reporter. Blushing, he quickly pulled his pants up.

As the elevator descended, the crowed below disappeared.

Yeah, well, Ukyo, that went great, didn't it? Reunions between old sweethearts will have to wait. I got bigger fish to fry. I'm coming for you Octopus. However, before I kill you, you're gonna answer me some questions.

As soon as it was low enough, he leapt from the elevator and onto the nearest rooftop.


	18. A Good Mother

After about 20 minutes of roof hopping, he found the building he was looking for. It was a large brick building from the old days. It had a large sign on it reading 'Fifer Industrial Salt'.

Shampoo said there was a lot of salt on his shoes. There is plenty of it here. Plenty of bad guys too.

He noticed several of the Octopus' diminutive henchmen running around. The closest one, Three, was keeping guard on the fire escape below him.

He scoffed. All the enemy had was guns and knives. He had an entire city as a weapon. He quickly grabbed a handful of the freshly fallen snow and then tossed it the unsuspecting Three.

Three looked up to see him descending from the roof above. He then punched Three in the face and bent him backwards over the fire escape, breaking his back. Then he tossed three into the telephone wires, killing him.

He jumped down from the fire escapes as Six came to investigate. He hid in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike. The moment Six turned away, he attacked.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken" he yelled as he knocked out Six with a barrage of punches.

Then he felt a bullet graze his left shoulder. He turned around to see Seven shooting at him.

Luckily, his city provided for him and protected him. Like a mother, a good mother. He grabbed another hand full of snow and flung it into the eyes of Seven. The snow distracted Seven long enough for him to grab a manhole cover and use it as a makeshift shield.

Seven continued to shot after getting the snow out of his eyes. He just hid behind his "shield" and waited. Then when the moment came and Seven had stopped shooting momentarily, he flung the manhole cover like a giant Frisbee.

Seven wasn't able to get out of the way before it hit him and sent him into a wall.

He then heard more footsteps and noticed more bad guys through the the manhole.

He quickly jumped down into it. However, when he looked around, no one was there.

And out of the shadows, walked a sexy, slim figure he quickly recognized as Silken Nabiki.

She smiled as she said, "What a fine detective. You followed the breadcrumbs right to us."

Then before he could react, she kissed him. And never being one to turn down a kiss, he let her. As soon as she knew his guard was down, she

stuck a needle full of sedative into his neck.

* * *

So, I'm finnaly done writing the rest of this story. All I have to do now is upload it so, after today, expect double updates on mondays and fridays. As for whats next, I don't know. Maybe I'll write a romance/drama or a crossover. Who knows.


	19. He Needs Me

She had only dozed off for maybe ten minutes before her dad woke her up

"You're not doing anybody good by falling asleep on the job. Go home and get some real sleep," said the Commissioner.

"Thanks for dropping by daddy," said Akane.

"I was just checking on Hiroshi. They wouldn't let me see him."

"That's because he's in critical. They're trying to save his spine."

"What are the odds of him walking again?"

"Hard to tell. Miracles do happen."

"Damn Spirit. He's over the edge."

"Don't go there, daddy."

"He's a menace."

"He's something the world needs. He's a hero."

"He's a menace and my own daughters in love with him. He's why you're killing yourself, waiting up."

"So what if he's the reason I'm here tonight."

"Just in case they wheel him in here one more time."

"Just in case"

"So you can lose another piece of your youth stapling his parts back together."

"I'm not a child and I rarely use staples on him anymore."

"Can't you see what you're doing?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm giving him exactly what he needs."

"He's using you"

"He needs me. I'm the only one who knows his body and how to treat him."

The commissioner scoffed, "There are plenty of girls who know his body, from what I hear."

"That's not what I meant. Don't make me ask you to leave," she growled.

"Akane, I don't know how to talk about this stuff," he sighed.

"You surely don't," she laughed.

"Why do you think I spend my nights knocking around that house all alone? Guess she had her reasons."

"You're married to you job. So am I. So is he."

They smiled at each other and hugged.

"You were so much happier in the old days with Ranma," he said.

"Ranma's dead" she replied.

"Yeah, Ranma Saotome is dead. He was a nice guy"

"Yeah, he was. And I'll never forget him but we keep going. I lost my boy scout."

"Yeah and I lost my little girl, huh. Good night sweetheart."

"Good night daddy."

"I just hope he knows how lucky he is."

"He doesn't."

And with that, Commissioner Dolan turned and left while Akane got back to work.


	20. Private Dance

Her voice, it was in his mind again. She was close, and he felt her. He could not see her face but he knew it was Kasumi.

_I can feel you. You're so weary. Let me hold you. _

Then he woke up. He was tied to a chair. There was a small sink next to him and a large bright light above him.

"What smells dental?" he said to know one in particular.

He looked around the room as more lights came on. Then only thing that really stuck out was the large Nazi sculpture that stood in the center of the room.

Out of nowhere, He heard music start to play. He saw a slim figure with a ponytail dancing behind a curtain.

He'd known some pretty strange women in his time, some darn strange women. But this one, if she was who he thought she was, she's got the final word on strange.

The figure then danced her way out from behind the curtain. She wore a leotard that was almost too small and she held a set of clubs.

"I am Kodachi. Kodachi of Paris. I will stick to my man till death do us part."

Without warning, she threw one of her clubs at him. Spikes sprang forth from the club in midair and the club lodged itself in his right shoulder.


	21. Death

He winced in slight pain as the spiked club hit him and he knew Kodachi was far from finished with him.

Suddenly, he heard a drum roll.

Kodachi stepped back and disappeared behind the curtain. A spotlight came on and focused itself in the center of the curtain and another figure stepped out. He held his trademark wooden sword even while dressed in a Nazi uniform.

"Death. It is almost all the lowly peasants think about these days. They eat so we will not die. They mate so that their seed will live on. They create art and build skyscrapers so their names will be remembered for centuries."

His speech was suddenly interrupted by Silken Nabiki who handed him a cell phone.

He answered the phone, "Hello. Mousse, how are you. What can I do for you? A message, and from whom would that be? Ukyo Saref. Ha, you should have known better than to play cards with her. So, what is her message? The projects….yes I shall be there tomorrow night. Good bye."

The Octopus looked over at Silken Nabiki. "Now where was I," he asked.

"Death" she said.

"That is right. They live their short, frantic, fearful, lives, twisting this way and that. Music and ambition. Making up gods, afterlives, all to keep their eyes off that immovable, impassable, diamond hard retaining wall that is death, realizing that it will destroy their minds."

His enemy yawned as he said, "Pardon me, but is there a point to all this? Because, I'm getting old just listening to you."

"You are really thick. You just do not get it. We are two of a kind, you and me. Neither one of us will be getting old."

"Well, I can sure as hell get bored. You keep teasing about how we're two of a kind. So how is that? What are we Octopus?"

"I'm getting to that."

"Well, move it along."

"Do you remember your death, cretin? It's not something one just forgets."

"Yeah, I remember." He remembered getting gunned down by some bank robbers after only being on the force for 5 months.

"When they brought you in, you were dead. There was not a breath of life in you. You were perfect. And I was your coroner. But I was oh, so much, much more than that. I had already built a drug trade. It is truly amazing how much a hospital does not miss. All you have to do is water it down, spruce it up and there you have it. Hello Swiss bank accounts. But mere money was never what I was after."

"All right so I give up. What were you after?"

"Immortality. I knew there had to be a better way to keep someone alive other than cutting them open. Or pills. They are just another way to stall death. I got down to basics. The essence of life. I cracked the code. Genetics. That's how smart I am."

"Yeah, you're real smart."

"Thank you. However, it wasn't easy. I have a freezer full of stray animals to prove it. Oh, what that serum did to those poor animals was just wrong. But when I got it right, well, I had to try it out. I needed a human."

"And there I was"

"And there you were. I gave you a modest injection and I waited."


	22. Came Back

The Octopus remembered the funeral, the firing squad and the sad faces of everyone who knew Ranma Saotome.

"Your second life began that very night. Do you remember" said the Octopus.

"Yeah, I remember," said the masked man.

He remembered trying to punch his way out of the coffin until his knuckles were sore and bloody.

"So in the midst of all that praying, whimpering and sniveling, you must have found something sharp"

The masked man remembered tearing off his police badge and slowly carving his way out of the coffin.

The Octopus smirked, "I always wanted to inquire: where did you go when you got out?"

His enemy smirked back and scoffed, "I took a walk".

Which is exactly what he did. He took a walk and he had himself a think. He visited an old friend.

_He started explaining, "I don't know what happened, but I still move, I still breath. It's impossible but I'm still alive. All my life, all I've wanted to be was a good cop. That's all changed. Everything has changed. The bad guys are winning. I think I've got something more to fight back with now. I'm something else now. I can go places, I can do things they won't let cops do. But I can't have any weaknesses. No name. No friends. I have to stay dead in everyone's eyes. Even Akane's. But I could be your spy. I could work with your men. Behind them, in the shadows. I could be the cities protector, its-its…"_

"_Its Spirit" finished Dolan_

The Octopus then punched his enemy in the face yelling, "And so farewell heroic officer, enter the Spirit. Eureka! So, I injected myself, and we became brothers under the skin."

"So what the hell are we Octopus?" he asked again.

Silken Nabiki interrupted, "Your works in progress. And once he has the vase and its contents, he'll drink of it and he'll become immortal."

He laughed, "Don't tease. Seeing as how I'm gonna die anyway, clue me in. What's in the vase? Thor's Hammer?"

"No. Better. The DNA of a god." said the Octopus.

"Not a god. Not exactly. Because humans and gods, well, they don't mix very well. They only route to take is to find the connection between man and god, the child of an immortal and a human. See, Zeus was a dirty old man and he made bags and bags of heroes. Now the greatest of them all was Heracles," said Nabiki.

"And we found him. His blood anyway. And we know where it is. And that's the missing link between science and magic. When Heracles' blood mixes with my ingenious formula, I become a god," exclaimed the Octopus.

"Or the next best thing" said Nabiki.

"I become a god. And you'll be just one more sad little byproduct," yelled the Octopus.


	23. Killing Orders

The Octopus continued to drone on, "I did however have several unpleasant failures. You get so much as one drop the wrong temperature and everything just….let me show you."

Silken Nabiki then handed him a cat and a syringe full of a green liquid. He emptied some of the syringe into a bowl and the cat drank it. Then much to the masked man's horror, the cat disintegrated right in front of him.

"The cat, she is all the reason I need. I will kill you," He said.

The Octopus just laughed while Nabiki stood there with the same bored expression on her face.

"Oh no, you have to die Spirit. You've got the formula. Your system's already been prepared. You're the only one the blood won't kill. One sip and you'll be rendered as immortal as the Octopus," said Nabiki.

"And the Octopus can be the only one. There can be no completion once I rule the world and they will all have to do what I say. Then everything will start to make sense," said the Octopus.

"Let's get back to business. Now here's where things get a little tricky. It's all about integration. In your current state, you heal very quickly. The only solution, it turns out, is to affect your systemic disintegration. In short, to render you into so many parts spread so far that reintegration would be impossible. " said Nabiki.

"And being the man that I am, I like to start from the bottom and work my way up" laughed the Octopus.

The Octopus clapped his hands and Kodachi came back into the room with a pair of the swords she was named after.

"My twisted assassin, bring me his toes" ordered the Octopus.

Kodachi danced around with her swords for another minute and just before she was about to sever his toes, he said in French, "(Kodachi, do you remember of Marseille?)"

"(Is it you? It's you) "Kodachi replied

"(It's me.)"

"(Oh, my sweetheart.)"

Then Kodachi leaned down and kissed the masked man.

"Enough. I have no idea what you're talking about. Kodachi, bring me his toes" yelled the Octopus.

She responded to his order by taking her sword and dancing around the masked man. She let out an angry scream and cut the ropes that held him.

He quickly got up and kicked the Octopus in the face yelling, "This is for Ukyo".

He landed two more punches on the Octopus, "This is for me."

"And this one is for the cat", he yelled as he kicked the Octopus into the Nazi sculpture that was in the center of the room.

The Octopus stumbled a bit and laughed, "Is that all"

Suddenly, the sculpture fell on him.

The masked man then tore the spiked club out of his shoulder and got ready to leave. Then without warning, Kodachi wrapped a gymnastic ribbon around his neck and asked, "Who is this Ukyo?"

"Not now, let's go" he said as he heard the footsteps of the Octopus' henchmen.

After they left, they stood at the edge of a lake.

Kodachi held his face in her hands, "The Spirit, mon amour".

Then she brought her lips to meet his.

She soon broke the kiss and handed him a bouquet of flowers.

"And this is for Ukyo" she said.

Suddenly, the flowers excreted a cloud of poisonous gas into his face.

Kodachi then walked off laughing, "I am Kodachi of Paris. The toast of Montmartre. I will stick to my man. Till death do us part." She continued to laugh until she was out of sight.


	24. They Need Me

_You're close now. Very, very close. You can't fight me._

He could see her face clearer than ever now. She had one of those smiles that cold light up a room and it was drawing him in.

Kodachi's poison was quickly working its way through his system.

_You. You are mine._

Now the poison was starting to cause his body to heat up and it felt like a knife was going through his chest.

He didn't know if the it was the poison or the fact that Kasumi was so close to him. But, he could have sworn he saw a panda holding up a sign reading "I know the feeling. You should meet my wife."

Then his mind went back to the unusually high temperature his body was at. He inched his way towards the ice-cold lake. Before he could dive in however, another flower that Kodachi must have stuck in his coat pocket while he wasn't looking went off.

There was no poison gas in this one but paralysis powder instead. The next thing he knew, He was tumbling off the docks and into the lake.

"Here we go again," he thought. "I'm dead again. The fights gone out of me. I'm ready for you Kasumi."

_Come_._ It is time. No more pain. No more suffering. Give up the last of it, Ranma. Give up the ghost. Give up the Spirit. _

In the ice-cold water of the lake, He could feel her warmth, her breath, the touch of her lips on his.

_It is done._

"What's it they say about when you die about your whole life flashing before your eyes? Forget all that. All I see are women. My tomboy Akane, always there to put my pieces back together. And Ukyo. That poor lost soul. Beautiful Ukyo."

"NO, Kasumi, you're not for me just yet."

_Oh my, not again._

"They need me. I gotta go back."

_I will always be with you Ranma Saotome. You won't escape me forever._

"They need me"

He suddenly regained control of his body and he swam out of the lake as quickly as he could. He slowly crawled his way ashore before passing out in the cold weather.

In his sleep, he muttered, "Ukyo….at the projects…..Octopus…..Pieces…..Pieces of Ukyo….Pieces of…..OCTOPUS!!!!!"

He awoke inside Akane's hospital with Akane, Dolan, and Shampoo standing around him. That didn't matter at the time. He had to leave and go after the Octopus. He quickly got up and began to exit the hospital with Akane, Dolan, and Shampoo right behind him.

"Always with the Octopus" yelled Dolan.

Shampoo interrupted, "Excuse me but…"

"Not right now" shouted Akane.

"But three hours with no vitals. He should be dead."

"It's a long story".

Dolan continued to yell, "….this time, you better know your place. You're supposed to be my spy, not some vigilante. If you go solo on me again, I'll kill you myself. You got that?"

The masked man scoffed, "I've got an idea. it's good. I promise."


	25. Special Delivery

Ukyo Saref and Silken Nabiki arrived at the projects on the exact time stated. Nabiki by a storage truck and Ukyo by small plane. Ukyo's bodyguard held the vase in one hand and pointed a gun at Nabiki with the other.

Two of the Octopus' henchmen carried the box containing Ukyo's treasure while Nabiki pointed a gun at Ukyo.

"Who the hell are you? The Octopus' girlfriend" asked Ukyo.

"No, it's not like that. I just do this for fun," replied Nabiki.

"Fun?"

"We show up here, we look good doing it, we swap things, and then we leave."

"Or maybe you're just looking to get yourself killed."

"Would you lighten up?"

"Should we start shooting now" interrupted one of the henchmen.

"I don't know" replied Ukyo's body guard.

"NO shooting idiot/jackass" yelled Ukyo and Nabiki.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Dolan, Shampoo, officer Hibiki, and six more police officers hid behind some storage units, watching the deal take place.

"No sign of the Octopus. I hope were not just wasting our time," said Dolan.

"We ready for him when he does" said Shampoo as she brought out what appeared to be a combination RPG (rocket propelled grenade).

"That cannon could take out the moon," said Dolan.

"I'm an excellent shot"

"Is every woman in this town out of her mind?"

"No sir, we just well equipped."

They turned their attention back to Nabiki and Ukyo.

"Hun, He's just using you," said Ukyo.

"Sure he is. I run a very lucrative business and I'm great eye candy. I walk away, I have my PHD all paid for," replied Nabiki.

"Fine, just tell your men over there to give me the box. And you start walking as far away from the Octopus as you possibly can. He will kill you."

"Alright, fine, I just think your taking this way to seriously, that's all."

Silken Nabiki snapped her fingers and one of the henchmen brought over the box he was holding. He set it down in front of Ukyo and then back away.

Ukyo kneeled down in front of the box and opened it. The sight of her golden treasure was enough to take her breath away.

She smiled at Nabiki and told her bodyguard, "Give them the vase."

He handed the the vase over and one of the henchmen, without warning, shot him dead.

"The boss said, I should start shooting now," he said.

Ukyo pulled out her gun and killed the diminutive minion, then pointed the gun at Nabiki yelling, "Get in your truck."

Then, the back of Nabiki's truck opened revealing the Octopus and at least fifteen more henchmen.

"Nobody is going anywhere. Nabiki, fetch me my vase." said the Octopus.

Nabiki almost thought that she wasn't going to walk away from this one. Ukyo had a gun pointed at her, telling her to get into her truck and leave. Octopus pointed a gun to her, telling her to retrieve his vase.

"Get in the truck"

"Retrieve for me the blood of Heracles NOW"

The she heard voice that distracted the two of them long enough for her to get away.

"Heracles, I always thought it was Hercules," laughed a very familiar masked man.


	26. Ends Tonight

He slowly stepped into the Octopus' view. Then he snapped his fingers and several bright searchlights came on on behind him.

"Ukyo, you found your armor. Use it. Octopus, you were right. We're mistakes. We never should have happened," he said.

He slowly advanced towards the Octopus who didn't hesitate to shoot. And each of his shots was a direct hit.

"Sir, this crazy" said Shampoo who was about to jump in.

"Stay right here, he doesn't want any cops getting killed" said Dolan.

He kept advancing, taking each and every shot from the Octopus. He had to admit though; he was starting to slow down.

"It ends tonight," he said.

"You have that correct. I am the Octopus, I have eight of everything," said the Octopus as he pulled out a pair of four-barreled shotguns. Then he took aim and fired.

The masked man instantly went down.

And as soon as he went down, Dolan and nearly half of the Nerima police force moved in. In all the chaos that followed, nearly all of the Octopus' henchmen had been cut down by gunfire. The Octopus and Ukyo Saref were the only ones left alive.

During the raid, Dolan had his gun knocked out of his hand.

The Octopus took the opportunity to point a gun at Dolan. However, before he could fire, his left arm was suddenly vaporized.

Shampoo took looked through the scope of her RPG and smiled, "Obstacle is for killing"

The next thing the Octopus knew, Dolan had fired several direct shot into his head.

He slumped down, defeated.

Then, Dolan heard someone yell, "Commissioner Dolan, your daughter's here."

He walked over to Akane yelling, "Honey, you don't want to be here."

"You're joking, right, daddy? Have you forgotten what I do for a living? He might need me."

"You'll just be in his way. He doesn't want you here."

"You don't know that. You don't know him. You don't know a damn thing."

Then she glared at her father and started walking towards the fallen masked man.


	27. Let's Die

After a minute, the bullets that were lodged in the Octopus' forehead fell out.

He looked around and found his heart's desire. The vase, even after all the chaos, was still intact. He ran over to it and laughed triumphantly as he picked it up.

In just a few seconds, he would drink the blood of Heracles and become immortal. Then, no man, beast, or Spirit would be able to stop him.

He raised the vase to his lips and at the exact moment, he felt the first drop of blood touch come close, the vase shattered. Broken to pieces by what appeared to be a small throwing spatula.

Ukyo Saref had thrown it. He turned, drew his wooden sword and started to advance on her when, he felt another hand grab his shoulder.

He turned around and a fist connected with his face.

"Nice investment Ukyo. It past its first field test," said the masked man as he removed his flak jacket.

He then dodged a swing from the Octopus' sword, then another, and another.

He did nothing to stop the Octopus' attacks. He just kept backing away, drawing the Octopus into a spiral.

As they got to the center of the spiral, he yelled, "Let's die. HIRYU SHOTEN HA"

Then, a small but vicious cyclone appeared that engulfed the two of them.

He could have sworn he saw Kasumi coming toward him, surrounded by a golden light. The next thing he knew, he was with Ukyo and they were being protected from the cyclone by the Golden Fleece.

The Octopus however wasn't as lucky. The cyclone had torn him to pieces and spread him so far apart that reintegration would be impossible.

When it was over, the masked man noticed that Ukyo was holding very tightly on to him. He whispered into her ear, "You lost something."

She smiled as he handed her her lost locket.

"Well, maybe I'll wear it now and then. But it doesn't mean I'm your girl.

She smiled again as she removed his mask simply to confirm that the person behind it was who she thought he was.

She leaned in to kiss him one more time before she left but at the last second, he turned away.

"Goodbye Ukyo" he said.

"Goodbye Ranma" she replied.

Then the two parted ways.

It was faint but he heard her whisper, "Goodbye Spirit".

Dolan suddenly walked up to him, "Is that Saref?"

"Give me this one Dolan. Just let her go. She saved me. She saved the world."

"Well, you had something to do with it. Alright, just stay out of my way".

Dolan walked off as he walked over and put is arms around Akane.

"So who the hell was that back there?" she asked.

"Just an old flame" he replied.

"Yeah, she looks old."

"It's you I love Akane. With all my heart."

"Yeah, me and every other woman you meet."

Then, as if to prove a point, Shampoo walked over and gushed over how amazing the masked man was. He then gave Shampoo one of his patented grins that could make any woman melt.

"Baka" muttered Akane.

The she felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and he kissed her, deeply, lovingly, and right in front of Shampoo.

Meanwhile, Silken Nabiki was about to drive away when she noticed something crawling around on the ground.

She got out of the truck and closely examined what appeared to be a finger.

She pocketed it saying, "We start from scratch. He's going to owe me so much money."

Then she drove away.


	28. Epilog Her Spirit

_She wakes. _

_Grouchy as always. _

_Endlessly noisy. _

_Endlessly alive. _

_She's all I really have. _

_My only hope. _

_My only constant._

_The secrets of the Octopus died with him._

_I don't know what I am or how long I've got._

_Heck, maybe I'll live forever._

_I hope not._

_That's nothing any man ought to have._

_That's nothing any man ought to want._

_Ranma Saotome is dead._

_I'm something else now and I can never give my heart to anyone but her._

_She will always be mine and I will always be hers._

_She owns me, body and soul._

_She is the love of my life._

_She is my city._

_And I am her Spirit._

With that final thought, he picked the cat that had been following him, still wondering why he shivered whenever he was even in the presence of a cat. Then he headed over to Akane's with the intent of removing his mask.

* * *

Well I finally finished uploading this story. Hope everyone enjoyed it and it's slightly altered ending. It'll probobly be awhile before I upload my next fic. See you next time.


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